Search - The Joe Gilman Trio :: View So Tender: Wonder Revisited Volume 1

Sophisticated jazz treatment of infectious pop

cal jazz | Encinitas, California USA | 09/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Joe Gilman is one of those many jazz artists deserving of wider recognition--a really swinging, creative pianist. I enjoyed his two album treatment of Brubeck compositions, but to be honest, I'm not that big a fan of Brubeck, whose songs (with the exception of In Your Own Sweet Way, which Gilman gives a driving solo rendition on Vol #1) always struck me as either clunky or uninteresting. This album is another matter. If you grew up in the seventies, as I did, these Wonder songs will seem so likeable and familiar that just the title will evoke the bar (or the grocery store) where you heard them last. Putting them in the context of a jazz trio might seem gimmicky, but Gilman's fantastic arrangements make them interesting without destroying the "hooks" which made them so appealing in the first place. Highlights include the shifting time signatures of Don't Worry Bout a Thing (7/4 (?) to 4/4) and the fluid solo in Send one your Love. I wouldn't rank Wonder's songs among the greats of Tin Pan Alley, but by giving them jazz respect, Gilman makes them good for serious listening."